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Vandals open basketball practice on Wednesday

by From news services
| October 15, 2020 1:10 AM

MOSCOW — After a summer full of uncertainty, official practice got underway on Wednesday afternoon. After making strides in the 2019-20 season, head coach Zac Claus and the Vandals look to improve in a season shaping up to be like no other.

“Luckily for us we are being led by a terrific individual in Chris Walsh, who oversees everything we do from a sports medicine standpoint… Our guys have done a terrific job of adhering to the guidelines,” said coach Claus. “So with that said, we’ve had the ability to get back on the court which has been fabulous for all of us.”

“It’s always fun to start the season. We have a new group of guys and we’ve come together really fast,” said senior Damen Thacker.

The Vandals return seven letterwinners from last year, including a senior class made of five experienced student-athletes.

Scott Blakney averaged 8.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg last season, both good for second on the squad, while Damen Thacker averaged 6.0 ppg and 2.5 rpg. Making up the rest of the senior class are Chance Garvin, Ja’Vary Christmas, and Babacar Thiombane.

“Our seniors have been fabulous this whole time,” said Claus.

Five newcomers join the Vandals for the 2020-21 season. Freshmen Hunter-Jack Madden, Ethan Kilgore, and Tanner Christensen along with transfer DeAndre Robinson will look to make an impression.

"I like the overall competitiveness and toughness of this group. They’ve been very willing to be coached,” said Claus.

“We have a lot of guys that want to play hard. The new guys coming in have a lot of energy and want to get better,” said senior Scott Blakney. “We’re going to be a very hard playing team, a very defensive minded team. I’m just looking forward to playing hard next to my guys.”

Trevon Allen, who was second in the Big Sky in scoring a year ago, leaves a large hole to fill after he graduated and signed a professional contract in Poland.

“It’ll continue to be a work in progress… we’ll [replace his scoring] collectively. We have guys who we think are going to be up to that challenge,” said Coach Claus. “We’ll do it across the board. We have guys that we feel very excited about, both returners and incoming guys.”

With more firepower, Vandal women return to the court: Official practices are up and running for Idaho women’s basketball, as the Vandals look to reclaim a spot in the Big Sky Conference Championship this season. The Vandals finished 22-9 last season, ending the year on a seven-game win streak. After weeks of individual workouts due to Covid-19 health and safety protocols, Idaho was finally able to get on the court together as teams from all around the country began official practice.

“Terry [Gawlik] and President [Scott] Green have been on top of this from the get-go,” said Idaho women’s coach Jon Newlee. “I feel like we are ahead of everything right now and our confidence is very high. We are just excited to get out on the floor all together and get after it.”

The start of practice begins the preseason for the Vandals which will consist of 30 practices before the official start date of Nov. 25th per the NCAA.

The schedule for the 2020-21 season is to be announced.

“It feels great to be back,” said Gina Marxen “We didn’t have our postseason workouts like normal last season. Being back here and being able to practice together and find that chemistry again is really exciting.”

The Vandals return 10 student athletes from last year’s 22-win squad including Big Sky All-Conference selections Gina Marxen and Beyonce Bea. Joining the group of ten returners is four newcomers including transfers Rylee Alexander and Gabi Harrington.

Allison Kirby, a guard from Timberlake High and Nina Carlson, a forward from Lake City High — both seniors — also return for the Vandals.

Alexander, a junior, joins the Vandals from Pratt Community College in Kansas where she played two seasons for the Beavers. Alexander averaged 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while at PCC.

Harrington played three seasons at Montana from 2016-20 before joining the Vandals. The graduate student from Boise, Idaho played in 89 career games for the Lady Griz and averaged 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Joining the transfers are two freshmen; Sydney Gandy and Paris Atchley.

Gandy, a native of Long Beach, California, was the 2019-20 CIF Division 2AA Player of the Year during her senior season at Orangewood Academy.

Atchley, a native of Yorba Linda, California played for La Jolla Country Day High School in 2019-20. La Jolla Country Day was named the 2019-20 National Champion by Maxpreps.com after finishing with a 32-1 overall record.

The Vandals roster 14 players this season, adding depth to a team that lost graduated just two seniors a year ago.

“We are going to have a lot more depth this year. I love our two transfers Gabi and Rylee,” said Newlee. “I also love our two freshmen. I think everyone will love watching them play. They can both score and defend well. I think we will be a much more physical basketball team this year, but a much quicker team as well.”

Defense was a staple of the Vandals last season holding opponents to a conference-low 58.8 points per game. Defense will remain a pillar of this year’s team.

“I thought we did a great job defensively last year, leading the league, but I think we are even better defensively this year,” said Newlee “I think we have more firepower as well as you go down the lineup 1-14.”